TORONTO THEATER REVIEWS

The North American premiere of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE opened on Saturday night at the Stratford Festival's Avon Theatre. This feel-good production is full of hilarious characters, stunning costumes, and clever references to the works of William Shakespeare. Most of all, though, it is full of heart....

The Shaw Festival tackles Thornton Wilder's masterpiece OUR TOWN, directed by Molly Smith. The quiet tale is presented in three acts, following the story of a small town at the turn of the century. A number of years pass between each act, allowing for audiences to delve deeper in the lives - hopeful...

AS YOU LIKE IT opened on Friday at the Stratford Festival's Festival Theatre with a party…a literal party. Director, Jillian Keiley has set this production in her native Newfoundland, and as such, the play starts and finishes with the actors dancing about the stage and in the aisles whilst an on-s...

This week A Chorus Line at the Stratford Festival confirmed what I've already long suspected: Donna Feore is one of the greatest directors of musicals of our time. Year after year she has managed to put out a top notch main stage musical for the festival as good as anything you'll see on Broadway, T...

THE LION THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE (from Schulich Children's Plays) opened at Stratford Festival's Avon Theatre on what became a magical Thursday evening. Based on the book by C.S. Lewis and dramatized by Adrian Mitchell, this production, directed by Tim Carroll is enchanting and fun for the entire...

A memorable and moving production of Arthur Miller's ALL MY SONS opened at Stratford Festival's Tom Patterson Theatre on Wednesday evening. It is the story of a family trying to live a post-WWII American Dream, yet unwilling to acknowledge what had to be sacrificed in order to achieve it. The entire...

Alan Dilworth delves into Arthur Miller's library for a take on one of his lesser known plays, the one-act INCIDENT AT VICHY. A chilling tale of a scene at the brink of the second World War, the play follows the events of an interrogation room as a group of men await their fate as authorities vali...

The Off-Broadway and Toronto favourite musical revue FOREVER PLAID finds it's way back onto the stage at the PANASONIC THEATRE. Highlighting the rise in fame of close-harmony groups in the 1950s, the show follows The Plaids, a four-piece group - Sparky, Smudge, Jinx and Frankie and their untimely de...

The Stratford Festival officially opened its 64th Season with a frighteningly great (and greatly frightening) production of the Scottish Play. Director Antoni Cimolino brings us what is likely the darkest and grittiest play to grace the Festival Theatre stage in some time. This may be the eleventh t...

Soulpepper's latest production of Wendy Wasserstein's 1989 play, THE HEIDI CHRONICLES explores the changing role of women in society through the coming-of-age story of a woman named - you guessed it, Heidi. The production features a series of episodic scenes throughout Heidi's life; from an awkward ...

It's rare to go to the theatre and end up rooting for the bad guy - but that's exactly what audiences can expect to do at A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, which opened last night at the Princess of Wales Theatre....

The Shaw Festival continues to launch its 2016 season with a fresh take on another classic - this time Anton Chekov's UNCLE VANYA. This moving dramedy explores family harmony and dysfunction with budding loyalties and conflicting love. Jackie Maxwell, outgoing artistic director at the Shaw Festival ...

The anchor of the Shaw Festival's 2016 season is an ambitious musical adaptation of the beloved, ALICE IN WONDERLAND. Veteran Shaw visionary Peter Hinton breaths new life into the classic Lewis Carroll tale featuring 19 original songs under the musical direction of Allen Cole. Tara Rosling stars a...

The Bible features parables, stories and encounters of the life and trials of Jesus and his disciples; but a figure who is so prominent in that story - his mother, Mary, only speaks four times. Her role as a matriarch is often silent, and the Aaron Willis-directed THE TESTAMENT OF MARY, now playing ...

The new spring programming at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts begins with the return of Neil Simon's THE ODD COUPLE. This comedic classic of polar opposite friends-turned-roommates is an illustration of what Soulpepper does best - which is why this encore is on stage again until June 11. St...

Using the 1884 Joris-Karl Huysmans novel, À rebours as inspiration, James Kudelka brings a rich and intimate new modern opera to life - combining a decadent libretto and stunning choreography. AGAINST NATURE, now playing at The Citadel is Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie's latest work which tells the st...

Stratford Festival HD's 2016 film series comes to a triumphant end with the release of THE ADVENTURES OF PERICLES on Saturday, May 7 at Cineplex theatres across the country, with encore screenings on Thursday, May 12. This live recording on the 2015 Stratford Festival hit is beautifully translated t...

Canadian Stage's 2015/2016 season comes to a close with the world premiere of two plays by acclaimed Governor General's Award-winning playwright Jordan Tannahill. The work is a collaboration with Canadian Stage and the Department of Theatre at York University which presents a bold double bill that...

The North American premiere and translation of Philipp Lohle's ambitious comedy DAS DING is now playing the Berkeley Street Upstairs Theatre. A coproduction between Canadian Stage and Theatre Smash, DAS DING follows the unlikely journey of a thing - in this case, a small cotton fibre - as it travels...

If/Then, a musical from the creators of Next to Normal and the director of Rent, opened last night at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto. The show, which was written as a star vehicle for Idina Menzel, is one of the most exhilarating new musicals I've seen in a decade – and mere moments in a...

The next addition to VideoCabaret's The History of the Village of the Small Huts series revisits Canadian history once again in THE GREAT WAR. Now playing at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts with its continued partnership with Soulpepper Theatre Compnany. Written and directed by Michael Holl...

The Coal Mine Theatre solidifies itself as a key player in the Toronto theatre scene with its gritty production of Tracy Lett's KILLER JOE. Starring Madison Walsh, Matthew Edison, Matthew Gouveia, Paul Fauteux and Vivien Endicott-Douglas, the play encompasses a son's plot to murder his mother in a...

Toronto's longest running contemporary dance series, DanceWorks presents the world premiere of JACKIE BURROUGHS IS DEAD & WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?, a mysteriously intricate choreographed piece combining stunning dance with ambient sound to create a complex sensory experience. Performed by ...

It is truly a rare sight to see a theatre as large as The Ed Mirvish at capacity for a serious two and a half hour drama. Plays as intimate as this one are generally more suited to smaller venues. However the current production of The Judas Kiss, in Toronto from the UK before it takes New York by st...

anadian playwright and director Judith Thompson reimagines THE CRACKWALKER as the final piece of Factory Theatre's Naked Season - which might be its most ambitious yet. Starring Claire Armstrong, Yolanda Bonnell, Waawaate Fobister, Greg Gale and Stephen Joffe, the drama brings to life the haunting a...